Process of welding metals.



A. LUCAS. PROCESS OF WELDING METALS.

APPLIOATION FILED NOV. 12, 1910.

Patented Mar. 26, 1912.

INVENTOR WI T/VE SSE 8:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANTON LUCAS, OF-N EW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOB TO GOLDSCHMIDT THEBMIT COMPANY,.

OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A. CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

PROCESS OF WELDING METALS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 26, 1912.

Application filed November 12, 1910. Serial No. 591,983.

zen of the United States, and rcsident of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Welding Metals, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a process of welding metals, and the main object of the invention is to provide an improved method of uniting two metals (one of which is solid) by the action of cast metal.

The principal feature which distinguishes my improved process from other processes of uniting metals by the action-of molten cast metal upon one or more solid pieces of metal is the employment in conjunction with ordinary molten cast metal or thermit and the superheated molten metal resulting from the thermit reaction for raising the temperature of such molten cast metal sufiiciently to cause the melting of the solid metal or metals acted upon and-the consequent union of all three kinds of metal into a substantially homogeneous body of metal.

The invention is particularly adapted to the welding together of the ends of steel .ra-ilroad rails, which are made of hard and refractory metal which, owing to its high melting point, it is difiicult to soften sufliciently by ordinary means to produce a perfect joint. In joints'of this type as heretofore madefby the action on them of molten cast metal the joint has not been perfect, owing to insnflici'ent heating up of the refractory metal "of the railends, as a conse-.

ffpience of which in said process as heretoore practiced the metals of the rail ends have not been fused together and the metals so merged as to form of the two rail ends one'continuous body of metal. For this reason the conductivity of joints heretofore .formed by said process has decreased with age, owing to scooping out of the metal at p the joints. as a result of vibration. and other causes.

my present process, however, all of these defects in the old process of welding rails, etc, by the process of casting molten metal around the joint and subjecting the rail ends to the heat of such metal have been eliminated, as the metal at the joint is continuous With joints formed according to css is applied to the welding of the ends of railroad rails is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a transvcrse section of a mold applied to a rail joint. and illustrating a railend in position therein togcthcr with a mass .of thermitfor raising the temperature of a body of cast metal in the mold; and Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same.

Similar characters designate like parts in both the figures.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate the specific application of the process just referredtm to wit, its use for welding together the ends of railroad rails, 2 designates a pair of rail cnds which it will be nnderstoo'd have bccn properly prepared for the Welding operation by suitably cleaning and smoothingthcc'nds.ctc. 'lhcsc rail ends are placed in a suitable mold or a suitable mold is placed around the ends of the abutting rails, which are brought in contact or prepared for welding in any well known way. The mold employed is generally a sectional mold such as is indicated at 3. When the mold is in place and everything is in readiness for the welding operation molten cast metal and thcrmit mixture of any suit able natnre and sufficient quantity to pro .duce the desired result is used in connection with the cast metal 4. This thermit mixture, as is well known, ordinarily consists principally of an oxid of iron and finely divided aluminum, although if vdesired any other proper elements orsubstances may be added to this thcrmit mixture or any other suitable thermit material substituted for it. The thcrmit may be applied in any suitable manner preferably either in compressed form or contained in a suitable receptacle 3 secured to :1 rod or other convenient means for handling the receptacle. Such a bodyof thcrmit is indicated in the drawings at opposite sides of the webs of the rails and close to such webs, said mass of thermit being designated by 5. It may be fastened to the rail ends by any suitable means before the cast metal is poured into the mold, or it may be introduced into the molten cast metal after such cast metal has been poured into the mold, and it may be applied at either one or both sides'of the joint, asdesired. In other Words, the. mode of application of the thermit maybe varied as desired, it being merely necessary to use it in such a way that the cast metal poured into the mold and the dethe high temperature produced in the body of cast metal 4 bythe reaction of the thermit 5 and unite with the cast metal 4 and the superheated thermitmet-al resulting from the reaction as form a substantially homogeneous body of ,Jmetal which when cool constitutes with the main portions of the rails a continuous body of metal. The entire body of cast metal 4 is subjected to the action resulting from the ignition of the thermit mixture, as are also all portions of the rail ends in contact with the body of cast metal, and both the solid metal and the cast metal are raised to a very high temperature as compared with the temperature resulting from the use of such cast metal only.

The temperature resulting from the thermit reaction in the cast metal t is so high that'in order, to prevent the resulting superheated -molten metal from fusing the inner surfaces of the mold the interior of the mold is usually coated with some refractory material, such as graphite or c ay,

process as applied to the welding of I the ends of railroad rails, it is obvious that it may be applied equally as well to 'the buttwelding of rails of any kind, and also to and the additionof molten metal to solid metal in any of the various waysin which i the repairing of large pieces of many kinds,

thermit metal alone has heretofore been employed. In all cases an important feature Iof the invention is that when a mam of molten'cast metal is employed with thermit and its temperature greatly increased as a result of the thermit reaction whichtakes place in the-charge of cast metal, the minimum amount of such cast metal may be employed, as a small body ,of such metal superheated by. the action thereon of the .cast' metal and consequent formation of a thermit metal and slag is sufficient to bring about the melting of the rail-web and other portions of the rail ends in contact with the substantiallyhomogeneous and solid or continuous body of metal at the joint when the metal is cold.

What I claim is: v 1. The process of uniting metals,,which While I have described my improved.

consists in subjecting a piece of solid metal to the action of a mass of molten cast metal and raising the temperature of said solid metal substantially to the welding point,

and subjecting said cast metal to the action ,ofsuperheated molten metal to raise the temperature of said cast metal to a point considerably above welding temperature and melt a portion of said solid metal.

2. The process of butt-welding a pair of rails, which consists in subjecting the ends of said rails to'the action of a mass of molten cast metal and raising the temperature of said solid metal substantially to the welding point, .and subjecting said cast metal to the action of superheated molten metal to raise the temperature'of said cast metal .to a point considerably above Weldirig temperature and melt adjacent portions of the ends of -said rails.

3. The process of uniting metals, which consists in subjecting a piece of solid metal to the action of a mass of molten cast metal and raising the temperature of said solid metal substantially to the welding point, and subjecting said cast metal to the action of an ignited mass of thermit to raise the temperature of said cast metal to a point considerably above welding temperature and melt a portion of said solid metal.

l. The process of butt-welding a pair of rails, which consists in subjecting the ends of said rails to the action of amass of molten cast metal and raising the temperature of said solid metalsubstantially to the welding point, and subjecting, said cast metal to the action of an ignited mass of thermit to raise the temperature of said cast metal to a point considerably above welding temperature and melt adjacent portions of the endsof said rails. a

5. The process of buttwelding a pair of rails, which consists in subjecting the ends of said rails to the action of a mass of molten cast metal and raising the temperature of said solid metal substantially to the welding point, and subjecting said cast metal to the action of an ignited mass of thermit at a point close to the webs of the rails to raise the temperature of said cast metal to a point considerably above welding temperature and melt the webs and other adjacent portions, of the ends of said rails. Signed in the county of Pulaski, and State of Arkansas, this21 day of October, A. D. 1910.

ANTON Lucas Witnesses J r z mmm, it A. C. PHILLIPS. 

